Fire staring devices are historically well known. Inefficient fire starters need large amounts of kindling sufficient to start a fire. There has been a recognized need for long-burning fire starters that create more intense heat, thus lessening the need for kindling.
As well, there has been a recognized need for easily starting a fire with minimal kindling.
There are various fire starting devices and methods for lighting fires described in the related art, but none of those inventions disclose all the features of the present invention and would not be as suitable for the required purpose as set for the manner of the present invention hereinafter described, such as U.S. Pat. No. 8,216,322 to Schweickhardt (“Schweickhardt”) and U.S. Pat. No. 8,657,891 to Heumuller (“Heumuller”). No single reference discloses all features of the present invention. Although Schweickhardt and Heumuller disclose spiral wound fire starters having paraffin wax fuels, neither device is adapted to be unwound or is provided with a wick. Schweickhardt discloses a wicking element; however, the wicking element in Schweickhardt is not a length of wick as normally understood in the industry but rather an uncoated end portion of the cylinder.
The present invention is not an obvious modification of an earlier invention. Nothing in Schweickhardt or Heumuller suggest it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill to unwind the cylinder and increase surface area, as disclosed in the present invention. Schweickhardt has a rigid housing preferably made from non-combustible material to retain the shape of that device during use. Heumuller discloses a paraffin soaked, wood fiber sheet wound into a spiral and adhesively connects the layers of the rolled cylinder. None of the related art references render the present invention obvious.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,622,017 to Bramhall et al. (“Bramhall”) discloses a fire starting container with wax layers and color producing salt layers with wick. Although Bramhall discloses a wick, the wick element lies transverse to the diameter of that device and extends only into a top layer. Bramhall differs from the present invention where the wick in the present invention is disclosed to extend across the entire diameter of the cylinder and is in contact with each layer. The present invention discloses a length of wick that is oriented along the diameter of one end of the cylinder to ignite each layer within the cylinder. This feature is also not disclosed nor suggested by the prior art.
None of the references in the related art contain every feature of the present invention, and none of these references in combination disclose, suggest or teach every feature of the present invention. The present invention is neither anticipated by nor rendered obvious over the related art.
The foregoing and other objectives, advantages, aspects, and features of the present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art upon consideration of the detailed description of a preferred embodiment, presented below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.